More Than 400 Are Running For Offices In Lehigh But Bausch Challenger Drops Out

March 13, 1985|by DAVID M. ERDMAN, The Morning Call

Eleventh-hour candidates stormed Lehigh County's election bureau to beat yesterday's filing deadline, while others dropped from the running, including the lone challenger to Lehigh County Executive David K. Bausch.

Eugene F. Kolowitz, a Democrat with no prior political experience, was seeking party support to run against Bausch but did not file yesterday.

His hopes for a run against Bausch were deflated Sunday in a meeting about his candidacy with party leaders.

"They were somewhat less than encouraging," the 41-year-old Mack Trucks production assembler said of the meeting with party officials, including Thomas Wallitsch, chairman of the party's screening committee. Wallitsch has not returned telephone calls, placed by The Morning Call, regarding Kolowitz's candidacy.

Kolowitz said he was warned about the large-scale campaign battle he would have to wage against the incumbent county executive, who is scheduled to kick off his campaign at a 7 a.m. $30-a-plate breakfast today in the Hamilton Plaza hotel, Allentown.

Kolowitz said he was not pressured against running. "I decided not to go for it after much discussion," he said.

The GOP, however, has kept its mayoral candidate afloat, as 58-year-old Charles Theisen, a campaign worker for two previous Allentown mayoral candidates, filed a nominating petition as of yesterday's deadline.

Incumbent Joseph Daddona and his two Democratic mayoral challengers, City Councilwoman Emma Tropiano and Whitehall-Coplay School District teacher Leonard W. Burkhart all filed.

Election bureau workers had not yet counted all petitions as of 4 p.m., the official deadline for candidates to enter the race for the May primary by submitting nominating petitions signed by registered voters.

Faye Guinther, chief clerk of the county election board, estimated more than 400 candidates had filed, compared with the 330 who filed in 1983. The total number of petitions is to be determined today.

"Everybody waited until the last minute," Guinther said, noting that more than half of all candidates who had announced intentions to run waited until yesterday's deadline before filing. "We just didn't have this number of candidates last year," Guinther added.

County Democratic Party Chairman Glenn Moyer, looking over a tally of candidates in the election bureau as the deadline passed, said, "There's bound to be some excitement this primary." In 1983, Moyer expressed disappointment over a sparse field of candidates.

Moyer's disappointment yesterday was that the filing deadline had passed with Bausch being left unopposed.

"There certainly are issues in this county which should be debated," Moyer said, "and we feel bad we didn't get anybody to field in that race."

The GOP gained a candidate and lost a candidate in the City Council race.

Republican Enedino Melendez, secretary of the political education organization of the Hispanic Political Caucus, was scratched from the race because his petition fell 12 signatures short of what was required to enter the contest. Melendez delivered what signatures he had collected as of yesterday, but Guinther said the incomplete petition was unacceptable. He could not be reached for comment.

One new entry yesterday in the City Council race was Fuad E. Jarrah, a Republican who switched his party to help Daddona in 1968, and then ran four unsuccessful City Council races as a Democrat. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission employee and owner of a consulting engineering firm said he turned back to the GOP in an attempt to make it past the full field of Democratic council hopefuls.

Republican Richard A. Miller, an insurance agent who announced he would run to break the Democratic strangle hold on city government, also filed yesterday. In announcing, Miller decried the fact that Daddona and the seven current council members are Democrats. Also filing were William Kurt Malkames and William H. Raub III, both of whom had already announced.

Also submitting nominating petitions for the council race were Democrats Benjamin Howells, Barbara C. Irvine, Mark C. VanHorn, and Frank J. Palencar, all of whom announced previously.

In the county commissioner race, Moyer anticipated, "We'll probably see some sparks fly," in the District 1 contest, where incumbent Democratic Commissioner Leon Eisenhard has two challengers. Eisenhard and challengers Terry DeLong, a former commissioner, and Allentown police Sgt. Arthur Beers all filed petitions.

Petitions were filed for Allentown School Board by Democrats Dr. James B. Hirsch, Norman C. Ziegler, Bea Potrebic, Dr. Willard S. Clewell Jr. and Dr. William Peters, and by Republicans Peter R. Hance, Jessie Lucido, and Thomas W. Ruhe. Tuesday is the last day objections to nominating petitions may be filed. Candidates have until March 27 to withdraw from the race.

Voters have until April 22 to register to vote in the May 21 primary. April 22 also is the last day for voters to change parties.

In Lehigh County boroughs and townships, voters also will be nominating prospective tax collectors, school directors and council members, supervisors or commissioners.